Followers

In honor of Valentine's Day, one lucky winner will receive our Sweetheart Gift set by InfantBows. I will use a random number generator to pick a winner on February 28th at 10:00 pm central time and post it on this site. Winner will be notified via the email address listed next to their name.

Here is how to win:

1. Click on the green button "Vote for me" button and support us in this contest.

2. Simply enter your name and email address in the name section if you don't have a URL with a address link. If you don't have a URL to post just use this one: http://infantbows.blogspot.com/

3. Winner will be posted on March 1st. An email will be sent to the winner requesting your shipping address.

To enter you must be a mom and be a majority owner of a business. You must also have a website for your business. No matter what industry, what business model, what size and stage, if you meet those three requirements, you are encouraged to enter.

You can enter your business until midnight Pacific Time on March 31, 2009.

Throughout April, winners will rank ordered according to votes accumulated.

StartupNation will select a variety of moms from among the finalists and create editorial feature stories about them.

A special thank you to Heather for your review of InfantBows on your blog site, "A Day Care Life". You have a wonderful site and lots of readers! Also, Congrats to Heather on her beautiful baby girl. Now she has two girls and they are both adorable.

All Work-at-Home Mother's, crafters, and small businesses can breath a little easier now. We are still in business! I think this is great news! I am thankful for the scare, as it let me as a business owner and a mother be aware of how much of our products and materials could be at risk. I have been checking every little detail on my products and will have testing sheets ready to go way before next February.

As a mother, it has actually been scary to study what all has BPA and other toxic materials. I just purchased new pacifiers that are now BPA free for my two month old. His Sassy and Fisher Price toys are not BPA free. Sassy is working to get some on the shelves now. Did you know the inside liner of all our canned food has BPA? It makes me want to give up. I am still researching and will keep you posted!

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

I just got the spec sheets from our backing supplier. I will be posting them shortly. I wanted to make sure we comply with the new laws and we do. This is one benefit of purchasing products made in the USA. Our backings and the adhesive that holds them on our bows is lead and phylates free. Our glue is all natural, and we are working on getting spec sheets for the bottles. We are working hard to meet all new compliance requirements.

The following is from our ribbon supplier here in the USA. This is what they have to say about the safety of our ribbon:

We have received emails and telephone calls from many of our customers concerned about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Title I Children’s Products, specifically pertaining to the lead paint rule and timetable.

We have contacted our yarn suppliers as yarn is the raw material used in our ribbon and have received material safety data sheets on our yarn and dyes used. All our yarn is manufactured domestically within the United States and does not contain harmful materials and is free from lead. The ink used on our polka dot ribbons does not contain harmful material and is free from lead. Our ribbon is free from di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) or benzyl butyl phhalate (BBP).

February 10, 2009 thousands of children's products manufacturers and retailers will be closing their doors. I can't help but think of all the Mother's that are staying home to raise their children losing income when the economy is already struggling. This means that not only will the products created will be AGAINST THE LAW, but all the debt and loss of inventory will play a huge roll as well.

I was trying to explain to my children, that if I don't find an affordable way to get my products tested, that all of my products (they help me daily with these) will be against the law. Mommy can go to jail for selling them. As crazy as this sounds, it is real. We will just make our China suppliers even bigger and hurt our Americans even more. This is the opposite of what my company stands for!

I quoted on one site the following idea:

I think the manufacturer of materials used like ribbons and zip lock baggies (examples of my materials) should be tested and I get a copy of their certificates and keep with my "certified products". This would be a lot more cost effective in the long run and focus on the companies with the resources to contain such certificates. I think the safety of our children should include everything in our house not just items geared for children. Material certification would be cover everything and not hurt the "little guy". Please reconsider!

InfantBows plans on obeying the law and fighting till the end. I will do everything in my power to stay in the business I have worked the last 6 years for. I have invested too much time and money into this dream.